Frozen: Return to the Past
by UnseenAssailant
Summary: It has been a week since the Great Thaw and everyone is glad that whole thing is over. Elsa, however, is still feeling guilty about her childhood mistakes and sets off to fix them on a journey through time. Along the way, she will meet friends from the present but much younger. The question is, does changing time really fix everything? Or will she end up breaking time itself?
1. Chapter 1

Return to the Past

Chapter 1

It had been a week since the incident in Arendelle. Luckily, no-one had been hurt; in fact, Elsa had noticed people rather excited about the whole thing. They seemed to be calling it the "Great Freeze" but she tried not to think about it. It pained her to think about how she must have made people feel. Especially Anna. She was still relieved that Anna's act of true love worked. She was glad she could now control her powers fully and she hoped she would be able to use them for fun without everyone flinching at the sight of them. It would take a while for even Elsa to completely trust the magic. But she could wait.

Currently, night had fallen and Elsa was looking up at the sky from her balcony. What was it Anna used to say about the night sky? _The sky is awake, so I'm awake._ Elsa smiled at the memory of her sister's younger self. She then shivered at she was reminded of the nightmare that had occurred the same night. _No, I can't let my childhood frighten me whenever I think about it._ She needed to focus on the positive aspects of it, but she was always brought back to that one night, that fateful night that changed everything. Elsa couldn't imagine how she could forget it, though. Even when she was happy, it just kept creeping back. There must be a way to forget something like that ever happened, right? She doubted she would ever forget nearly killing Anna.

Then she had a thought. _What if it never happened? What if something had stopped the cold blast of murderous ice from penetrating her skin and freezing her skull- wait, wait, I have to stop thinking like that. I don't even know what it did in detail... Anyway,_ Elsa was trying not to lose her train of thought, but it had been a long day. _W_ _hat if I could stop myself from hurting Anna, then we could have a normal childhood._ She would do anything to make Anna happy. Elsa knew just who to talk to about time manipulation. She slipped into her shoes and grabbed a warm cloak. She hadn't changed into her pyjamas yet so she was already fully clothed for the outdoors. She snuck out of her room and padded down the stairs and corridors, trying not to wake anyone or startle the guards. She headed to the library and pulled out a book on magical beings. Elsa shook it and an old piece of paper fell out. She put the book back and opened the paper. It was a map of Arendelle with a drawing of a troll in the map's forest. She felt another jolt as she remembered that her father had used the same map to find the trolls thirteen years ago. She wanted to bring her parents back to life too, if she could. Even though they had isolated her from the world, even her own castle, she knew they meant well. They were just afraid and unsure of how to stop it hurting people.

When she got outside, Elsa headed to the stables and roused her horse from his peaceful sleep. They galloped towards the forest, Elsa constantly looking back at the map. Eventually they were at the place on the map. Elsa remembered it exactly. She hadn't been here for thirteen years but everything about that night was crystal clear. She wondered if she would have to call on the trolls like her father had.

Suddenly, there was a voice. "Hey, there!" Elsa jumped. She turned to see a boulder with a face staring back at her.

"You're a troll, aren't you?" She didn't have to ask. She remembered them too.

"I am indeed. And am I right in thinking that you are a human?" He said it as a joke. Elsa didn't laugh.

"Actually, I'm not sure about that myself."

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"Well, a lot has happened in my life that I regret and I was wondering if you could send me back to my past to change it."

"Woah, slow down there, you can't change 'your' past, only 'the' past," the troll explained.

Elsa hadn't thought about that. What if doing this would have worse consequences than her current past had? Nothing could be worse than what did happen, could it? Elsa continued.

"Please take me to Grand Pabbie, I'm sure he can help me."

"Pabbie? The old man's not here right now. He's on vacation. I'll send you to the past though!"

Elsa wasn't sure she wanted this troll to use magic on her. He was clearly quite young, about her age, and she knew what happened when someone her age had a magic outburst. He seemed excitable enough to do so.

"OK, then..."

"So, when do you want to go?"

"Back thirteen years." Elsa closed her eyes, not sure what to expect, and waited. She didn't feel any change but maybe that was what happened.

"Um," the troll said. "I need more detail. Like a date. And time."

"Oh, right!" Elsa felt a bit embarrassed. "It was just past 12 on the 13th of July. On a Friday."

"Alright, then." The troll closed his eyes and began saying something in a troll language. "Ucuduzhxhxjvkfjeebshdhcjvic..." Elsa couldn't work out what he was saying but she knew the ritual had begun. She saw the forest swirl around until it was just a blur of colour. The greenness became a pale orange and began to take the shape of her bedroom.

She looked around. This was it! It was just like it used to be. Except for one thing. Anna's bed wasn't back in the same room as her's like it was back then. Elsa looked up at the grandfather clock that was suddenly seeming rather tall. It was 12 all right. 12pm, that is. Great. The accident happened at 12 o'clock in the morning. The troll had got it wrong. She began to notice one other thing. The reason why the clock looked so tall was because _she_ was so _small_. The troll had also made her thirteen years younger! Now what would she do? By this point, she had been isolated from the world. She couldn't just walk out.

She had to think of a plan.

 **A/N: So this is kinda... no, very different to my first story. I'm not just going to do One Piece stories so sorry if that's what you were hoping for. I will do some more, they just won't be the only thing. I've been wanting to do fanfictions for lots of fictional universes so that's what I'm gonna do. I was also thinking of doing some kind of crossover of all of them once I have stories for a bunch of worlds. Kinda like that LEGO Dimensions game that got cancelled... Anyone remember that? (To be honest I haven't played it in like a year or something, but the concept was pretty cool.) Anyway, tell me what you think of that idea, I don't know how I'll do it but we'll see what happens when we get there... Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this next fanfiction :) -(The smiley face will be a recurring thing through all my stories. I should probably name him. You can suggest a name if you want)**


	2. Chapter 2

Return to the Past

Chapter 2

Elsa sat on her bed, trying to decide what to do. It seemed even in her younger body she could control her magic. She wondered what had happened to her past self. She didn't understand time travel at all but it was almost like she _was_ the past her.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Elsa?" a little voice asked. "Do you want to build a snowman?" Elsa froze. She had forgotten about this. What should she do? She could say no and keep the timeline how it should be. Or she could say yes and pretend the hiding away thing was just a joke. Five-year-old Anna would fall for that. _Eighteen-_ year-oldAnna might fall for that. She was here to change the past, right? Hoping she was right, Elsa quickly opened the door, pulled Anna in and shut it quickly.

"Elsa!" Anna grabbed her sister and hugged her tightly. It had been a full twelve hours since they were last together. Even Anna could tell something was wrong. But here Elsa was, the same as always.

"OK, Anna." Elsa took a deep breath. "I've got some explaining to do."

"You sure have!" yelled Anna. "Where have you been? And why do you get the WHOLE room to yourself?"

"Well... To be honest, it's a long story but anyway, I need to tell you this, it's important."

"What?"

"I'm from the future!" She had to admit, it came out better in her head. _Great, now I'm ACTING like an eight-year-old._

"Wow, really?" Anna was, of course, completely convinced immediately. Elsa couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, but I'm here now because-"

"So you're still that small in the future?" Anna asked, intrigued.

"No. No I'm not. Anyway, I'm here to change the past so that the present is better," Elsa announced. She hadn't expected this would be so difficult.

"I wanna help!" Anna cried, bouncing up and down, raising her hand. "Please! Let me help! We're best friends! We gotta do everything together!"

Elsa hesitated. She didn't know how dangerous it would get and she didn't want Anna getting hurt. But then she looked back at her little sister, even more little than Elsa was used to, and saw her so excited to be with her. She couldn't shut her out. Not in this new timeline she was creating.

"OK, fine. But we have to make some rules clear. No shouting. We need to be quiet because I'm not supposed to go out of my room. Also, please stop hugging me. I need to be able to move."

"OK, got it." They looked at eachother for a minute. "Soooo what are we doing?"

"That's the part I've not figured out yet. In my past, I stopped playing with you, even talking to you, for thirteen years, so I guess I've kinda sorted out that by letting you in."

"Huh, that wasn't very nice of you," Anna frowned, trying to count to thirteen on her fingers. She concluded it was too big to do that and forgot about even wanting to do it soon after. Young children are prone to this kind of behaviour.

"Why can't you go out your room?" Anna asked curiously.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure I should tell you. It's not a happy story." Elsa looked down.

"I don't mind. I wanna know!" demanded Anna, not wanting to be left out of a secret.

"OK, I'll shorten it by just showing you this. You'd better not make any loud noises." Elsa produced a sparking snowflake and held it in front of Anna. Anna's eyes widened as she stared at the impossible creation.

"Wow," she breathed. And then "THAT'S SO COOL!"

"Shhhh!" Elsa hissed, dissipating the snowflake to get Anna's attention. "We've got to keep quiet!"

"Oh yeah, sorry," Anna apologised, sheepishly.

"I've got to get back to the future. I mean the present. My present. I guess it's your future... Whatever it is, I've gotta get there!"

"You're leaving already?" Anna looked downcast. "What about the present you? Well, my present you. Wait, what?" She was confusing herself with all this time stuff.

"I don't know. I guess when I'm gone, she'll - no, I'll - come back."

"But how do we get you to the future?"

"The same way I got here. We'll ask the trolls!"

"Trolls?!" Anna's storybooks did not tell her good things about the trolls.

"Oh yeah, you won't know about them." said Elsa, remembering Anna was only five at this time. "There kinda like rocks but with faces. They're friendly, not like in books."

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. So they were rocks with faces? Sure, she could handle them. "Alright, let's go!"

Elsa opened the door a crack and peered out, expecting someone to see her. The coast was clear. She and Anna left the room, leaving the door shut so it looked like she was still inside. They ran through the castle, Anna checking round corners so Elsa wouldn't be seen. The sisters stepped outside into the bright sun. It was a beautiful summer afternoon and the sun was at its peak. This wasn't great for Elsa as it would be harder to hide in broad daylight. She dashed in and out of bushes, Anna bouncing along behind, fitting through the holes Elsa made in them.

Finally, they made it to the forest. Elsa still had the map from the library so finding the trolls wouldn't be a problem. They were quite far away though. There would be plenty of time to talk and Anna knew what she wanted to talk about.

"How did you get your powers?"

"I don't know, I was born with them."

"What else can you do with them?"

"I can make anything out of ice, snow, water and steam."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah."

"Do your powers have something to do with why you have to stay in your room?"

"Yeah." Elsa didn't really want this conversation but she couldn't really see a way out.

"What did you do?"

Elsa stopped walking. "OK, you want the answer straight up? I threw an ice blast at your head and it required strong magic just to wake you up."

"Wait, what? Why'd you throw ice at me?" Anna hadn't expected this.

"It was an accident. But everyone was so scared that I was forced to stay away from you forever."

"When did this happen?" Anna was starting to put two and two together.

"This morning, just after midnight."

"And I don't remember because the trolls made me forget?" Anna could be annoyingly smart when it came to it.

"That's right. We tried to hide it from you to keep you safe but it ended up making everyone more upset. Nobody realised the key to controlling my powers is love."

"That's so cheesy!" Anna laughed. "It's like in a fairy tale or something."

"Yeah, well, whatever. Let's go." Elsa resumed walking, hoping it wouldn't take too long.

After five minutes of walking, the girls heard a noise like hooves on dirt. They could also hear the runners of a sled sliding along grass.

"What's that?" Anna grabbed Elsa's hand, uncertain if they were still safe.

Elsa could make out the shape of something running towards them. As it came closer, she could see it was a young reindeer with a sled. On the sled was a blond boy, about her age, and a big block of ice. She recognised them immediately. _Kristoff and Sven? What are they doing here?_ She noticed how little she actually knew about the ice harvester's past. She should probably make an effort with him back in the present, seeing as he could potentially be her brother-in-law soon. For now though, she should probably get off the path before Sven trampled her and Anna. Elsa pulled Anna into the thicker trees and waited for him to run by.

As Kristoff sat on the sled, staring at the trees, he swore he could see two girls hidden between them. Weren't they the ones with the trolls earlier? He had seen some weird stuff in his short life but nothing quite like the royals talking to a bunch of rocks with faces and magic powers. Kristoff shook his head and looked towards the town. He had ice to deliver.

 **A/N: Here's the next chapter (woo). Just to let you know, I won't post anything between Monday and Friday since I am on holiday (yay!). Thanks for reading and Happy Easter :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Return to the Past

Chapter 3

Elsa and Anna peered out of their hiding spot among the trees. The boy and his reindeer were gone. They continued along the path, Anna beginning to slow down.

"How much longer will it be?" she moaned. "My feet hurt!" Elsa knew she should have left her at the castle.

"Alright, then," she sighed. "Jump on." Anna climbed on to Elsa's back and they carried on, Elsa breathing heavily because of her added weight. Eventually, they came to a clearing.

"OK, Anna, this is it," whispered Elsa, letting Anna slide from her back. Anna ran over to a moss-covered rock and shouted at it.

"HEY, TROLL! WE'RE HERE TO SEE YOUR MAGIC!"

"Anna, be quiet!" Elsa pulled Anna away from the rock.

"But I'm making friends with him!" Anna pouted.

"Yeah, but that's an actual rock. _Those_ are trolls!" She pointed to the stony creatures with friendly, but obviously confused, smiles.

"Wow! They came fast." Anna was overwhelmed by all the trolls staring at her. Even she didn't want that much attention. They noticed some trolls whispering in uncomfortable voices.

"Haven't we seen these kids before?"

"I thought I recognised them! From this morning, right?"

"Why are the princesses out here alone?"

"Weren't the King and Queen trying to suppress the older one's magic?"

"Somebody get Pabbie!"

Anna and Elsa spun around to see a much older troll hobbling towards them. Of course, Elsa knew who he was but Anna hadn't a clue.

"Why're they all staring at that old guy?" she whispered to her sister.

"He's in charge here. He's the oldest troll alive right now."

"Ohhh..." Anna was beginning to understand his importance.

"What are you doing here, my children?" Pabbie said, gentle but concerned. "I sense a different magic coming from you, Elsa, not just ice magic but time magic too."

"Well, I'll explain now," Elsa began. "I'm not technically the Elsa from this time. I was sent back in time to here to sort some stuff out." The trolls started whispering to eachother again.

"What were you 'sorting out'?" the old troll asked. He was beginning to be Aware of the changes in the Fabric of Time. A troll of his experience could wear the Fabric like a cloak but he could feel it loosening.

"Well, in the old future, I shut out my sister, Anna, for thirteen years and I completely regret it. But now, I have opened up to her and everything is great! The reason I'm here, though, is because I need to go back to the present. You can do that, right?"

"I can. However, I must warn you, changing the timeline is dangerous, especially without knowing the possible consequences. Making your present worse than it used to be is not the worst thing that could happen. If you're not careful, you could destroy the space-time continuum, and the universe with it." Elsa became serious again, remembering she was actually twenty-one.

"You're right, I could. I'm sorry. But it's OK, because the universe is clearly still here!"

Pabbie sighed. "I suppose it does not concern me what the Princess of Arendelle chooses to do."

"Actually, I'm the Queen."

"Wow, you're the Queen?" Anna blurted out. "That's so cool!"

"Anyway, I shall send you back to the present." Pabbie tried to redirect the tangent.

"Great! Let's do it now!"

"But Elsa!" Anna realised she had to say goodbye to her best friend who had been there for her her whole life. "I don't want you to leave!"

Elsa saw tears begin to fall from her face. "Hey, Anna don't cry. I'm not the Elsa you know. She'll reappear when I leave. I promise, you won't be alone."

The sisters embraced for the last time and Anna smiled, glad she could count on Elsa to stick by her in any timeline. She stepped away but still held on to Elsa's hand as Pabbie began to work his magic. "Ucuduzhxhxjvkfjeebshdhcjvic," he murmured under his breath. Elsa stood still, eyes locked onto her sister's. She missed her childhood but it was time to let it go. She knew she had fixed it and she had to be there for the present Anna as well. She watched as Anna, the trolls and the forest disappeared in a swirl of colour and she was back in her room, back in the present, back _home._ She lay down in bed, exhausted but smiling.

The next morning, Anna leaned against the balcony. She was remembering something she thought she must have forgotten.

"Hey," a voice called softly. "How are you?" Elsa came to lean next to Anna but Anna looked down.

"I'm great, just thinking about stuff," Anna replied unconvincingly.

"If there's something you want to tell me, I'm here for you."

"I know. It's just... remember when you first shut me out? I know it sounds crazy but I met the future you. And you told me, just before you went back to the future, that you'd always be there for me. I kept telling the real you that but you never listened." Elsa couldn't believe what she was hearing. After all she had done, had she failed?

"Anna-" she began but Anna spoke again.

"It's OK, I forgive you. I just want to know, was the you from the future, was that _you_ you? Because if it was, I want to tell you this: what you did, it wasn't necessary. I love you, the kingdom loves you and everyone is OK."

Elsa, who had been silently crying throughout Anna's speech, grabbed her sister and hugged her tightly and Anna returned the hug, glad she hadn't messed up her speech. "Thank you, Anna. I know I shouldn't have but I felt so guilty about what I had done-"

"Don't worry, it's fine. It's over now. And what else is great is that you managed to keep the timeline roughly the same. Nothing else has changed."

And so, life in Arendelle carried on pretty much as before except Elsa now had let go of her guilt and spent every day joyfully with Anna.

 **A/N: So, this is the end of this Frozen fanfiction. I will do more probably but I also have plans for fanfictions for other things. Hope you enjoyed this one though, tell me what you thought of it :)**


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